Persons desperate for plastic surgery who went to a back-room surgeon were badly scarred by the procedures. According to reports patients of Ha Nguyen ended up with disfiguring scars and infections.

Forty-eight year old Ha Nguyen was first investigated in 2003 when a woman on whom she performed genital surgery had an infection. The case was dropped however as the complainant moved.

In the current situation, Nguyen has been charged along with 62-year old Zbigniew Makowski, described as her assistant, who helped to clean the surgical incisions. Nguyen is not licensed to practice in California. Nguyen is the owner/operator of Thu Ha Permanent Makeup.